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Then as we were driving up to Emerald Lake, we saw a car stopped on the side of the road and realized that there was big black bear about 25 feet from us eating some berries!! So we stopped and I got out of the car to take a few pics. From what I understand now, getting out of the car was a bad idea even if I was standing right next to the car. But it was amazing to see another bear and up close too!

We watched the bear for about 5 minutes and then he started heading back into the woods. So we continued on to Emerald Lake and the Carcross desert (which is the smallest desert in the world) to take more pictures.

Really enjoying your review , thanks for taking the time to post. We were on the 06/25 sailing and I agree with a lot of your points. We also had an ocean suite midship on deck six , loved the suite , big difference for us was that our cabin steward , Roy , was excellent. One of the best we've had so far. I also agree with your points on the buffet , especially times everything open. Also , on our cruise trying to find a table , especially for breakfast and lunch was a madhouse. People just circling with their trays waiting for a table. We also did the small boat in Tracy Arm and loved it.

Thanks again for the review , especially the pictures. Bringing back a lot of great memories

Thanks for the kind words and I'm happy to hear that I wasn't delusional in some of my assessments But even with those negatives, it was still an awesome cruise! I'm still on a high from the trip

alohagirl, thanks for your review and your amazing photos. We were on the 7/15 sailing as well and were on the 11 am Tracy Arm small boat - we probably tripped over each other taking pictures. Your brown bear photos are much better than ours!

alohagirl, thanks for your review and your amazing photos. We were on the 7/15 sailing as well and were on the 11 am Tracy Arm small boat - we probably tripped over each other taking pictures. Your brown bear photos are much better than ours!

We probably did trip over each other (or ran into each other on the ship). It was tough sometimes to get a good spot against the rail. If the families that swapped with us didn't do so, we wouldn't have gotten good family pics in front of the glaciers! I'm glad you like the review so far. I like writing it since it helps me to relive the trip!!

After we drove to Emerald Lake and the Carcross Desert, we stopped at Caribou Crossing. We got a family rate for under $30 that included the Wildlife museum, petting farm, and the Husky dogs. For an extra charge, you can also do the dirt sled ride and gold panning. We didn't do the extras but my kids really enjoyed the museum and the dogs.

Here are pictures of the sled huskies and their puppies. The dogs had cute names like snickers and gold. They have dog snacks in jar that you can feed the dogs in exchange for tips. The puppies were really cute and my kids enjoyed playing with them.

We left Skagway around 930 and returned around 4pm with about an hour at Caribou Crossing. We then walked and shopped a little on Main street. There were your standard souvenirs that you see in all the ports but I do have to mention this little bookstore that sold all kinds of books, including kids books, that are about Alaska or written by locals. Of course, I had to pick up some books for our kids. If we didn't drive to the Yukon, we could have done Skagway in a couple of hours and then we would have been bored. So I would highly recommend renting a car and driving to Emerald Lake!

Our plan for today was to catch the Glacier bus to Mendenhall and then go to Tracy's Crab Shack. We would have loved to go Whale watching too but our 2.5 year old wouldn't have done good on a small boat for 3 hours so we skipped it. I heard from other cruisers that they saw 14 whales that day and they were bubble net feeding, so I guess we missed out. That just means we need to plan another cruise!

Our ship docked right in town and you'll see the tour booths as soon as you leave the ship. We purchased the White glacier bus tickets. We tried to buy a one-way but the guy said that they no longer let you buy tickets on the bus for the return trip. So we bought round-trip tickets and waited about 10 minutes for our bus. They run every 30 minutes and the trip takes about 30 minutes too. There are some working seatbelts but I had inquired before our trip if we needed a car seat (with the Blue glacier bus company) and they said it's not required on their buses. I'm happy that we chose the white bus because it wasn't as crowded as the blue bus and we were able to get seats on both trips. Our driver going to the park was named Lenny and he was funny and kept us entertained with local information and tales. For example, did you know it is against the law to wake up a sleeping bear to take a photo! My son still remembers this and tells everyone.

We did the Nugget Falls hike out to the waterfall. It's about a mile and takes about 20 minutes. We then spent at least 1/2 hours there on the beach next to the falls. My kids found sticks to play with, were building little sand castles, and my son found some really neat stones. They really enjoyed it. You could even take a swim in the falls if you're crazy enough 'cause we saw a guy and his son do just that. There were icebergs in that water and they stood in the Falls. Not for us!

For the mommas, the path is a flat semi-gravel path that we were able to bring our stroller. There is a rocky part you need to pass once you get near the Falls. Some people parked their strollers there and others, like us, just carried our stroller over the rocks to bring it to the beach.

After hiking to the Falls, we did the photo point trail which gives a great vantage point for photos. In total, we spent about 3 hours at the Park and we didn't even do the Visitor's Center, which we really wanted to do but we wanted to eat King Crab more! So we caught the bus back, no lines with plenty of seats. I forgot to mention the cost in previous post: it was $20 roundtrip and it was free for my toddler.

BTW, during the drive back along the shore, it was low tide and the shore/wetlands near the hatchery were just full of eagles everywhere! I was able to catch one decent photo while the bus was moving. At this point, I wish we had rented a car so that we could have stopped and watched the eagles. The drive to Mendenhall was pretty easy and I think there was only 1 turn. But oh well, it was still neat to see from the bus.

Once we got back to the pier, we found Tracy's Crab Shack which is right there next where the Miracle docks. It was packed and there was a long line, but it was worth the wait! We ordered 2 specials which included 1 leg, 4 crab cakes, bisque, and rolls. We also ordered a 1/2 dungeness crab and an Alaska White beer which my DH enjoyed. Everything came out to about $109 and it was so worth it!! We never had King crab and it was delicious!! Big chunks of crab meat!! Even the bisque was amazing!! They were selling the whole crab for $30 a pound if you wanted to eat the whole thing.

We arrived at Victoria around 3pm to a beautiful, hot and sunny day. There were several options to get to the downtown harbor area: shuttle bus, pedicab, horse trolley, taxi, or walk. The shuttle bus is $10 pp or you can take a taxi for $10 total for up to 4 people. There was a long line for the shuttle bus so we decided to take a taxi and planned to walk back. The map showed it was 1.2 miles from the cruise terminal to the Empress hotel area. We walked around by the Empress hotel and legislative building, and it's so pretty with lots of flowers everywhere. We then started walking back along the harbor and stopped at fisherman's wharf. There was an otter just swimming around in the harbor, eating dinner. The fisherman's wharf is a cute floating house boat/restaurant area. We ate at Barbs Fish and Chips, and it was fresh and delicious!! Best fish and chips we've had! Then the kids played at the little playground across the street. After a bit, we started our walk back to the ship which took about 15 minutes. In all, it takes maybe 25-30 minutes to walk from the Empress hotel back to the ship.

I really enjoyed reading your review, and loved the pics of bear from Tracy Arm excursion. I've never been on Carnival, but I am hooked on John Heald's blog/facebook feed, and reading about his adventures in Alaska on the Miracle. He cracks me up.

Thank you so much for the review. We will board the miracle in a little over two weeks i am so excited. I have one question if you dont mind. It has been several years since i have sailed on carnival and i can't remember if you can access your sign and sail account on the tv. Is this possible? Thank you again for a wonderful review and stunning photos.